Geraint Thomas is in the game from the disputed prologue in Lausanne. The winner of the last Tour de Romandie finished in 4th place, 10 seconds behind the winner of the day, his teammate Ethan Hayter (Ineos). The 23-year-old Briton celebrated his first victory on the World Tour at the same time.
Ineos advanced a new pearl in the peloton which won at more than 52 km / h on average. Hayter (23) showed no deference to his leader, Geraint Thomas, the defending champion. The Welshman finished 4th at 10”. Hayter has already distinguished himself in several races. He won the general classification of the Tour of Norway last year with two stages.
Ethan Hayter won his first World Tour victory in Lausanne under the watchful eye of Christian Prudhomme, boss of the Tour de France. [Laurent Gillieron – Keystone]
On the 5.1 km course, almost flat, Hayter beat the former world champion in the time trial, the Australian Ron Dennis by 4” and the Austrian Felix Grossschartner by 10”. Hayter, both reigning British time trial champion, reigning world champion in the omnium and Olympic vice-champion in the American race, scored his first success on the World Tour . Among the favorites, the Briton Geraint Thomas, winner of the TdR last year, seems the best off with his 4th place.
Among the favorites for the final victory, Thomas is of course ideally positioned to repeat his victory of last year. He will be wary of the Russian Aleksandr Vlasov, 18th at 19”. On a track that did not favor him, the Bora rider perfectly limited the damage. Above all, he is part of a formation which promises to be formidable with Grossschartner and the German Maximilian Schachmann, 5th.
Fall for Thiébaud
Under the sun, Mauro Schmid (Quick-Step) proved to be the most comfortable of the 15 Swiss riders at the start. Marc Hirschi (44th at 24”) and especially Gino Mäder (57th at 27”) remained a little below their expectations. However, they finished better than Valère Thiébaud. The Neuchâtelois from the Swiss Cycling team fell in the penultimate corner before the finish. He crashed into a barrier and fell to the ground. However, he was able to finish the race.
![Prologue, Lausanne: the fall of Valère Thiébaud (SUI) [RTS]](https://i0.wp.com/www.rts.ch/2022/04/26/17/49/13047941.image?w=960&h=540&ssl=1)
On Wednesday, the 1st stage will take the riders from La Grande Béroche (NE) to Romont (FR) over 178 km. The very hilly terrain will lend itself to attacks by adventurers
ats/bao